Cold plasma application to fresh green leafy vegetables: Impact on microbiology and product quality.

Fresh green leafy vegetables (FGLVs) are consumed either garden-fresh or by going through very few simple processing steps. For this reason, foodborne diseases that come with the consumption of fresh products in many countries have prioritized the development of new and reliable technologies to reduce food-related epidemics. Cold plasma (CP) is considered one of the sustainable and green processing approaches that inactivate target microorganisms without causing a significant temperature increase during processing.

Inhibition effect of belzalkonium chloride treatment on growth of common food contaminating fungal species.

The improvement of disinfection applications for hard contact surfaces in food processing is critical for the control and prevention of disease-causing and food spoilage microorganisms. The objective in this study was to determine the efficiency of the antifungal agent benzalkonium chloride on growth and/or spore germination of postharvest fruit pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus spp., Penicillum spp.

Plant molecular farming: opportunities and challenges.

Production of foreign molecules in transgenic plants is anticipated to be an alternative to already established, microbial or animal expression systems with lower production costs. This article reviews the different technologies and approaches currently used to produce economically interesting molecules in plants or plant cell cultures, to evaluate their technical feasibility and economic implications, and to assess the potential socioeconomic and environmental impacts deriving from the adoption of molecular farming products.

Elimination of Aspergillus parasiticus from nut surface with low pressure cold plasma (LPCP) treatment.

Low pressure cold plasma (LPCP) using air gases and sulfur hexafluoride (SF(6)) was developed and tested for anti-fungal efficacy against Aspergillus parasiticus on various nut samples. Artificially A. parasiticus contaminated hazelnuts, peanuts, and pistachio nuts were treated with air gases plasma and SF(6) plasma for up to 20 min duration.

Decontamination of grains and legumes infected with Aspergillus spp. and Penicillum spp. by cold plasma treatment.

The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of a self-designed low pressure cold plasma (LPCP) system using air gases or SF6. For the inactivation and/or elimination of two pathogenic fungi, Aspergillus spp. and Penicillum spp.

Characterization of beta-xylosidase enzyme from a Pichia stipitis mutant.

beta-Xylosidase production was maximal for the mutant Pichia stipitis NP54376 grown on xylan as the sole carbon source. beta-Xylosidase was purified from culture supernatant by (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation and a hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl sepharose. Optima of pH and temperature were 5.

Contemporary approaches into obesity: drugs and genes.

Obesity is a global epidemic effecting the health and life style of millions of people in both developed and developing countries. In this article, current medical treatments, recent scientific progresses toward understanding obesity, and future potentials in biotechnology applications in pharmaceutical research are reviewed in detail.